Working together towards a manifesto for a popular

heritage in the digital age

Victoria Grace WaldenTeaching Fellow, University of Sussex

Fellow of Royal Society of Art v.walden@sussex.ac.uk / @miss_bleep

A bit about me:FE media and film teacher for 7 years Producer of a few short films and music videos Just finished PhD at Queen Mary, University in London

in Film Studies Now teaching fellow at University of Sussex Interested in the relationship between screen media

and the museum

André Malraux – believed the reproductive arts (i.e. photograph)could create the ‘museum without walls’, giving more people access.

Julio García Espinosa – Cuban revolutionary filmmaker, believed in a ‘popular cinema, by which he meant ‘made by the people for the people’.

Andrew Hoskins – writes about a ‘living archival memory’ that we are constantly producing with our mobile tech

Nina Simon – called for a ‘participatory museum’ where knowledge no longer comes from the top down

This is inspired by …

In the UK , most of us have one of these. They offer us ALL the potential to access a huge range of knowledge and to be creative. McLuhan had a utopian view of new technology – it was going to connect us all. But did it …

Today, we see a digital world that is chaotic and divisive

In my research, I’ve seen great examples of innovative uses of digital tech that enable visitors to have interactive experiences. However, they do not enable them to participate in the creation of knowledge.

How might we encourage publics to use digital technology in ways that involves them in the

productive creation of knowledge?

Towards a manifesto for a popular heritage in the digital age …

(1) Publics should be involved in the creation of knowledge (2) Digital technology can enable them to create and share knowledge

(3) We must be looking at ways to engage people more productively and critically with digital technologies – ways that bring people together rather than divide them

(4) Film and media educators and academics could offer the skills training that would help publics to do this

(5) Museum professionals and archivists could offer skills training and access to materials

(6) If we are going to create a popular heritage (by the people for the people), then publics need to be involved in every stage: sourcing objects, researching, curating,

distributing, exhibiting

How can we work together to create popular heritage in the digital age?

Film / Media Educators / AcademicsMuseum Professionals

Publics

We don’t do enough with

museums around the

digital!

• A potential idea … A Popular Exhibition of LondonPublics invited to share their own images of significant sites of London Given facilitated access to archives to explore the history of their

chosen site Given the skills to work in partnership with educators/ academics and

museum professionals to develop an exhibition Exhibition: in the streets? Virtual museum? Using social media as a

museum? The digital and physical worlds are full of opportunities!

Does all this sound interesting?

Get in touch! Let’s start a revolution together!

v.walden@sussex.ac.uk@miss_bleep